Improvement in machines for folding and counting paper



4 Sheets-Sheet I.

L e p a P g n 1 t n m NU H g n d 1 -0 NF M4 5 e 1 h cm M0 N PatentedJan. 22,1878.

WITNESSES: m

'INVEINTOR:

qfc/awwa N. PETERS. PHOTO-L TMOGRAPMER WASHINGTON D C 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

N. S. CLEMENT. Machine for'Polding and Counting Paper. No.'199,354.Patented Jan. 22,1878.

WITNESSES: *i

INUENTOR:

- I /W%M2 ILPEYERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. u C

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

r N. S..OLEMENT. Machine for Folding and-Counting Paper. No. 199,354.Patented lan. 22,1878.

INVENTOR:

. x Q, g 4 5 n A W W fiea/ N PETERS, FHOTO L|TNQGRAPHER WASHINGTON D C.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

N. s. CLEMENT. Machine for Folding and Oquntin No. 199,354.

g Paper. Patented Jan. 22,1878.

FMW

WITNE SES" INVENTOR N. PETERS. PNQTLITHOGRARER1 WASHINGTON, D c.

n at each end of the machine, upon the ends of UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIon.

NATHAN S. CLEMENT, OF NORTHAMPT BARTON a FALES MACHINE AND IRO RIGHT TORICE, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

ON, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF 111s N COMPANY,

IMPROVEMENT lN MACHINES FOR FOLDING AN'D COUNTING PAPER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 199,354, dated January532, 1878; application filed March 8,

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, NATHAN S. CLEMENT, of Northampton, in the county ofHampshire and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in SelfFeeding, Folding, and Counting Paper-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and the letters and figures marked thereon,forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 representsa top or plan view of my improved self feeding, folding, and countingpaper-machine. Fig. 2 represents a side view of the same, looking in thedirection indicated by arrow 1, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents the front, orend, view of my said improvedmachine, looking in the direction indicatedby arrow 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a side view of the machine,looking in the direction indicated by arrow 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 representsthe other end, or rear, view of the machine, looking in the directionindicated by arrow 4, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 represents, upon an enlarged scale,a vertical central longitudinal section of the machine, taken on line AB, Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by arrow 3 of the samefigure. Fig. 7 represents, also upon an enlarged scale, aside view of aportion of the machine, as will be hereinafter more fully explained; andFig. 8 represents, upon a still larger scale, a section of a portion ofthe machine, as will also be hereinafter more fully explained.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention belongs to-makeand use the same, I will proceed to describe it more in detai In thedrawings, the part marked .A represents the bed-piece or table of themachine, and BB two pieces secured to said table, one

which are secured, by means of .screws, the legs C of main frames orstandards C C, thus holding the machine securely in position; I) is thetable, upon which the paper to be folded and counted is placed, theupper portion D of which, as will be seen by Figs. 2, 4, 6, and 8, ismade thicker at the center, and slanted downward toward each end, forthe purpose of facilitating the operation of curving the paper as it ispushed forward between the first two feed-rolls.

The paper is first pushed forward by pressure-feet or starters E, whichwill be hereinafter more fully explained, until it is taken up byfeed-roll F, which carries the sheet up, where it is acted upon by bothfeed-rolls F F, and doubled in the center. It is then carried forwardand delivered or fed to the breaking or compressing rolls G G, whichpress the back, folded bythe first two rolls, tightly together to form asharp edge. It is then carried forward between feed-rolls H H, thence,through delivery-rolls I I, over delivery-plate a and guide-plate a,into a counting-receiver, b, after which it is dropped into the generalreceiver in single packages as they are made up, by suitable mechanismhereinafter described.

In order that the paper may be kept firmly packed or pressed down andheld in position, pressure-plates U are provided, the ends of whichextend nearly up to the center of feedrolls F Fthose upon the forwardportion of the machine being secured toshaft V, and those upon the rearor back side to the piece B. If such plates were notprovided, the sheetswould curve outside of feed-rolls F F instead of between them.

Suitable gages D are combined with the sides and ends of the machine, bymeans of which the paper is regulated, so that it will be foldedsquarely and evenly in the center.

Table D is operated as follows: Upon its under side is arranged ametallic plate, D, upon the under side of the center of which issecured, in some suitable manner, a screw standard, J. K is a ratchetwheel or pulley, grooved out, as shown at c, to receive a belt, (1,correspond ing in shape to said groove, which ratchet operates, by meansof a pawl, K, fulcrumed at e, in combination with ratchet teeth f, wheelor pulley L, which is fitted to turn upon screw-standard J, said pulleyL being provided with a corresponding groove, 0, to receive belt d. I

Upon the end of compressingroll G, next to standard 0, is arranged andsecured a cam, G, (shown in dotted lines, Figs. 2 and 6 of the drawings)which operates a T-lever, M, pivoted at g. As the end h of lever M israised by cam G, the end M is also raised or drawn back at the sametime, which operation draws back pawl K, which catches into one. of theratchet-teeth f, and thereby turns ratchetwheel K and pulley L thedistance which one notch will carry them, thus raising the table.

To provide against the package of paper being raised too fastviz.,faster than it can be taken off and foldeda self-regulating device isarranged, by means of which the paper is always kept at the proper levelfor the top sheet to be acted upon by the pressure-feet or starters E.This is accomplished in the following manner: A lever, N, is pivoted ati, and provided at one end with a swinging lever, N, and at the otherend with a device consisting of a flat, rectangular piece, N, one endsecured to the end of lever N, and the other end projecting in over thepackage of paper 0 and provided with an adjustable regulating -foot, N,projecting down, and adapted to rest upon the paper, as indicated inFig. 6. As the greatest weight is upon this end of lever N, the foot ofpiece N always rests upon the paper, thereby adjusting the lower end ofswinging lever N (upon which is arranged and secured .an inclined blade,70) to the level of the paper.

When the end h of T-lever M is lowered by the action of cam G the lowerend M is drawn forward by means of a spiral spring, I, to the point atwhich it again catches into the next notch, f.

If the table is at a proper level for pressurefeet E to act upon thepaper, the end of spring m, secured to the upper side of pawl K, willpass over the edge at of blade is, thus keeping the end of pawl Kelevated, so that it will not catch into the next notch of ratchetwheelK; but as the paper is taken off andthe package lowered the footof'piece N also drops, thereby raising blade 70 and allowing the end ofspring m to pass under it, so that the end of pawl K is allowed to dropupon ratchet-wheel K,'and,'as it is drawn back, catches into a notch,thereby raising the table the required distance by means of ratchetwheelK and pulley L, as before explained.

Suitable guides J are combined with the sides of the table, by means ofwhich the latter is secured against a revolving motion.

Table D is represented in the drawings as being adjusted laterally bymeans of setscrews '1",- but in practice other suitable'devices may beemployed, if preferred.

Uponv the end of compressing-roll G, also next to standard 0, isarranged and secured a cam P, (shown in dotted lines, Figs. 2 and 6,)which operates cam-lever, having two arms,P and P, keyed to shaft Q.There are also secured upon the same shaft two levers, B, one at eachside of the machine, upon the lower ends of which is secured, at 0 0, aplate, R, upon which the pressure feet or starters are pivoted. As cam Prevolves in connection with compressing-roll G, and the part 10 comes incontact with the arm P of camlever, the

latter is raised, thereby carrying forward the lower ends of levers R,upon which the pressure-feet or starters E are arranged, and as saidfeet are manufactured from rubber, they adhere to the paper, therebypushing it forward to form a curve, which curve, coming in contact withthe first feed-roll F, is drawn forward and carried up betweenfeed-rolls F and F, and folded; thence forward through or between eachsucceeding set of rolls, as before explained.

It often occurs that several sheets are more or less curved at the sametime by the action of pressure-feet E. It is, therefore, necessary thatthe surfaces of feed-rolls F F travel faster than pressure-feet orstarters E, in order to draw the upper sheet forward, and therebyrelieve the action of said pressure-feet E, thus allowing all save thefirst sheet to drop back to their normal position; otherwise more thanone sheet would be liable to be drawn in at the same time.

When the point p of cam P comes in contact with arm P of lever P, leversR, in connection with pressurefeet E, are carried back into the positionfor pushing another sheet forward, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 8, ofthe drawmgs.

Upon the under side of plate It is arranged a sliding plate, R, which,when pushed forward, will strike against the back of pressurefeet E,raising them off of the paper, and thus disconnecting the feedingoperation, and vice versa.

In order that the pressure-feet may work freely, it is quite essentialthat they shall be pivoted at a particular angle above the point ofcontact, as their operation will be greatly impairedif set. at too acuteor obtuse an angle.

Pressure-feet or starters E are applicable not only for pushing thepaper up to form a curve, then to be caught up and folded by feedrolls Fand F, as illustrated in the drawings, but maybe used with good effect,in combination with said rolls, for feeding sheets without folding thesame. In the latter case feedroll F would be raised, and gage D, on theopposite end from pressure-feet E, would be arranged under roll F, andthe package of paper placed upon the table of the machine so that theends to be fed would abut against said gage D. Pressure-feet E will thenmove the paper forward, and form the curve in the same manner as when itis to be folded, the end being caught between the rolls instead of thecenter of the sheet.

Upon shaft S is arranged and secured a cam, S, (shown in dotted lines,Figs. 2 and 6,) which operates a spring, T, arranged loosely upon shaftT, the upper half of spring T being held from springing up by bearingagainst a hub, 8. When the lower half issprung up by coming in contactwith the part t of cam S spring T is held tightly about shaft T,thus

securing the latter from being turned when it isrequired toremainstationary.

As sheet 1 passes up through carrying or feed rolls H H, the folded end2 comes in contact with a concaved plate, 3, which guides the paper downinto delivery-rolls I I. When it has been fed through the latter abouthalf the length of the sheet, the lower roll .I is, stopped, as beforeexplained, thereby holding the lower half of the sheet, as shown at 4,while the upper half is carried forward by roll I, which opens thesheet, as shown at 5, and by this time the folded end 2 of thesucceeding sheet has been carried forward by-feedrolls H H a sufficientdistance to carry it over the end 4. The pressure is then released uponspring T by cam S, and allows roll I to turn, which carries the part 4:forward, and allows the sheet to drop into receiver 12, where it 00-cupies the position shown by Sheet 6, and the next succeeding sheet topass within that sheet, and so repeating until the package is completed.

Upon shaft W is arranged and secured a counting device, consisting oftwo rubber or friction pulleys, W.W, which are so formed and arrangedthat, in combination with a ratchet-wheel, X, operated by a pawl, X,pivoted at 7 upon the end of arm M of T-lever M, any number of sheetsdesired may be folded and dropped into receiver 11 While pulley Y ismaking one revolution. By cutting away the surfaces part way aroundpulleys W W, as shown at 8, so that they will not bear upon roll H,their driving-power, I am enabled, by

simply withdrawingpin 9 and turning pulley W, to set it so that pulley Ywill revolve once to any number of sheets I wish to count off into apackage, the counting being done in this manner: As pulley Y revolves, apin, 10, strikes the end of arm 11, and the other end being keyed to theupper end of deliveryguide a, and both pivoted at the same point upon asmall shaft, 12, the lower end 13 ofdelivery-guide a is thrown up beyondthe end 14, thus allowing the package of paper containing the desirednumber of sheets, folded one sheet within another, to drop down into thegeneral receiver Z.

To facilitate the operation of packing the packages in receiver Z, Ihave arranged a guide-piece, Z, which operates, in connection with theoperation of the counting-device, as follows: The guide-piece Z isarranged to slide up and down upon plates 15, secured to the lower edgeof guide-plates Z. A belt, 16, is secured to a projecting piece, 17,secured to the under side of guide-piece Z, which passes up over apulley, l8, pivoted at 19 upon a standard, 20, the latter being securedto frame or standard 0.

Upon pulley Y is secured a piece of rubber, 21, of just sufficientthickness to bearfirmly against belt 16, so that as the former revolves,and piece 21 comes in contact with the belt, the latter will be drawn upin connection with guide-piece Z, which allows the last package whichkeeps it taut at all times.

of paper. to drop down to the bottom of receiver Z, the latter being soformed that it holds the top of each preceding package forward, thusallowing the incoming package to pass back of, instead of into,it.

To secure against the belt 16 becomingslack, and thus preventing theoperation of guidepiece Z, a weight, 22, is secured to the end, Theupper edge 23 of guide-piece Z must be below the top of plates 15, orthe package is liable to become caught at that point as it is droppedinto the receiver. 1

24 is a guard-arm, by means of which the paper, as it is counted ofiinto receiver b, is

kept from falling over out of its proper relative position and 25 is athin plate, secured to said arm, and bearing against the surface of theupper delivery-roll I, for the purpose of preventing the upper half ofthe sheet, as

it springs out from under the roll, passing up over and around said rolland delivery-plate a operates in like manner to prevent the lower halfof the sheet from passing down and around the lower roll I.

In the drawings Ihave represented my regulating device for raising andlowering table D' only upon one side,.since, in practice, thearrangement of another set upon the other 'side would be but aduplication of parts, a screwsta'ndard, J, and the operatingmechanismconnected with it, being also arranged upon each side of themachine.

The operation of the machine may be briefly I summed up thus: Table Dhaving first been lowered, the package of paper 0 is then placed upon itand regulated by gages D, so that thepaper shall be folded squarely andevenly in the center. Pressure-feet or starters E having first beenraised by pushing forward sliding plate R, the table is then raised byturning ratchet-wheel K until the top of the paper is within aboutone-sixteenth of an inch of the bottom of feed-rolls F F, when the feetare then lowered by drawing back slide R and the machine set inoperation, when pressure-feet or starters E then push the paper forwardto form a curve, 26, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 8, which, whencoming in contact with feed-roll F, is drawn up by the latter betweenboth rolls and folded. It is then fed forward between breaking orcompressing rolls G G, where the fold made by rolls F F is pressed toform a sharp edge; thence up through carrying or feed rolls H H, whichcarry it forward through delivery-rolls I I, where, by means ofstop-roll I, the paper is carried one sheet within another, as beforeexplained, and

receiver 1), over the end 13, and dropped into arately; to carry, whenso folded, one sheet within another; to count off any desired number ofsheets to a package; and to pack into a general receiver said packageswithout droppmg one package within another.

Having described my improvements in self feeding, folding, and countingmachines, what Icla1m therein as new and of myinvention, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with the table D, the pressurefeet E, and feed-rollsF F,.of mechanism, substantially as herein described, controlled in itsaction by the paper upon the ta-.

ble, for raisin g said table for adjustment of the paper thereon to theaction of said pressurefeet and feed-rolls, substantially as shown anddescribed. v

2. The combination, with feed-rolls F F and pressure-plates U, of thepressure-feet or starters E, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with delivery-roll I, of guard-arm 24 and its plate25, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the guide-piece Z, of mechanism, substantiallyas described, for raising and lowering the same, substantially as andfor the purposes set forth.

5. The combination, with the guide-piece Z and pulley Y, of the weightedbelt or strap 16, substantiallyas and for the purposes setforth.

6. The combination, with the bottom delivery-roll I and spring T, of camS, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. The combination, in a machine for folding and countingpaper, ofdelivery-rolls I I, one of which is arranged to retard or check themovement of one-half of the folded sheet until the fold of the nextsheet overlaps it, substantially as and for the purposes described. 4

8. The combination, with the hinged pressure or starting feetE, ofsliding piece R, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. The mechanism, substantially such as above described, for foldingpaper, in combination with mechanism, substantially as described, forcounting and resting the same in separate packages, as shown and setforth.

, NATHAN S. CLEMENT.

Witnesses:

THos. H. DODGE, EDWIN E. MOORE.

